I woke up in the middle of the night with a man inside our bedroom, taking our things away. In a panic, I screamed, and the thief ran away. As I looked around, I saw that my purse was gone, along with our bag containing all our passports, important documents, bank cards, and car and house keys. All our computers, iPads, cell phones and many other valuable belongings were gone, too. Not even our Bible cases were spared. Someone had broken the metal bars of our house and gotten in. I used the same way to get out and call for help. A few of our neighbors heard me yelling and came to help. One helped me climb our tall fence because our gate was locked and went with me to the police station to report the crime.

As the sun rose Sunday morning, our landlady called a welder to fix and strengthen the broken iron bars. A carpenter came and replaced all the door locks in the house, and a locksmith was able to replace the chip in our car and make us new keys. These shops don’t usually work on Sundays.

A constant stream of neighbors, church members, and friends came to sympathize, share stories, sing hymns, and pray with us all day. Our Bible workers left their beds at night and came to be with us. They have not left even after a week.

This experience has been traumatizing for me, but I am extremely thankful to God for keeping David and me safe from receiving physical harm because the man was armed with our kitchen knife.

I experienced the best and worst of Mozambique during this event, but I pray that the man reads the evangelistic books he stole and finds Jesus.

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